TWI595386B - Touch panel and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Description

Touch panel and method of manufacturing same

The present invention relates to a touch panel and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly to a touch panel capable of passing a ball dropping test and a method of manufacturing the same.

With the development of technology, touch panels are also developing toward light, thin or flexible features. However, in addition to the above-mentioned features, the touch panel itself must still take into account various mechanical properties such as ball drop test, hardness test, temperature test, hot and cold cycle test, humidity test and high temperature or low temperature storage test.

Wherein, the falling ball test of the touch panel drops the steel ball from the standard height from the stationary state to the center of the touch panel to verify the impact resistance of the touch surface of the touch panel. For example, taking a 130-gram steel ball from a height of 50 cm, for example, since the steel ball hits the touch panel very briefly, and the contact area between the steel ball and the touch panel is very small, the ball drop test The middle touch panel will be greatly impacted.

In the current manufacturing process of the touch panel, the metal layer is first sputtered on the transparent substrate, and then a plurality of sensing electrodes or conductive lines are formed by etching or the like. In the process of sputtering, the target material is ion bombarded by high pressure, and the target atoms are emitted to the substrate in the form of gas. Such a technique of emitting target atoms to a substrate tends to cause minute nicks on the surface of the substrate, resulting in In the subsequent ball drop test, the substrate could not withstand the impact force of the steel ball.

In view of the above problems in the prior art, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a touch panel and a manufacturing method thereof for solving the physical damage of the surface of the substrate during the sputtering process. The problem.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a method of manufacturing a touch panel includes: providing a substrate; forming a shielding layer on a peripheral surface of the substrate; covering the buffer layer on the substrate and selectively at least a portion of the shielding layer; and forming a plurality A sensing element is on the buffer layer.

Preferably, the buffer layer covers a portion of the shielding layer to form an exposed area of the shielding layer, and the step of forming the sensing elements on the buffer layer further comprises forming a plurality of peripheral lines in the exposed area of the shielding layer.

Preferably, the buffer layer can completely cover the shielding layer, and the step of forming the sensing element in the buffer layer further comprises forming a plurality of peripheral lines on the buffer layer.

Preferably, the buffer layer can be formed on the substrate and optionally at least a portion of the shielding layer by a lithography process, a spray process or an evaporation process.

Preferably, the buffer layer can be made of transparent acrylic, transparent polyamine, cerium oxide or nitride.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for manufacturing a touch panel includes: providing a substrate; covering a buffer layer on the substrate; forming a shielding layer at a position of the buffer layer opposite the peripheral surface of the substrate; forming the sensing element on the buffer layer Masking layer.

Preferably, the step of forming the sensing element in the buffer layer and the shielding layer further comprises forming a periphery The line is on the obscuring layer.

According to still another object of the present invention, a touch panel is provided, which comprises a substrate, a shielding layer, a plurality of sensing elements, and a buffer layer. The substrate has a first surface and a second surface, and the first surface serves as a touch surface. The shielding layer is disposed on a surrounding area of the second surface, and the sensing element is disposed on the second surface of the substrate. The buffer layer is disposed between the plurality of sensing elements and the second surface of the substrate, wherein the buffer layer covers the substrate or selectively covers at least a portion of the shielding layer.

Preferably, the buffer layer may cover a portion of the shielding layer to form an exposed area of the shielding layer, and the sensing element further includes a plurality of peripheral lines disposed in the exposed area.

Preferably, the buffer layer can completely cover the shielding layer, and the sensing element further comprises a plurality of peripheral lines formed on the buffer layer.

Preferably, the buffer layer is disposed between the shielding layer and the substrate, and the sensing element further comprises a plurality of peripheral lines formed on the shielding layer.

Preferably, the buffer layer is made of transparent acrylic, transparent polyimide, cerium oxide or nitride.

As described above, the touch panel and the method of manufacturing the same according to the present invention have a better impact resistance of the substrate of the present invention because the buffer layer can protect the substrate from the sputtering process when the sensing element is sputtered. In addition, the buffer layer of the present invention selectively covers the substrate and a portion of the masking layer, thereby providing a planarized surface for uniform sputtering of the sensing element onto the buffer layer during formation.

10‧‧‧Substrate

12‧‧‧ first surface

14‧‧‧ second surface

20‧‧‧shading layer

21‧‧‧ side wall

22‧‧‧Exposed areas

30‧‧‧buffer layer

40‧‧‧First metal layer

41‧‧‧First metal bridge structure

50‧‧‧Transparent insulation

60‧‧‧Second metal layer

61‧‧‧First sensing pad

62‧‧‧Second sensing pad

63‧‧‧Second metal bridge structure

70‧‧‧ peripheral lines

80‧‧ ‧ protective layer

F, F’‧‧‧ hatching

1 to 10 are manufacturing processes of the first embodiment of the touch panel of the present invention. Figure.

Figure 11 is a schematic view showing a first embodiment of the touch panel of the present invention.

Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment of the touch panel of the present invention.

Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a third embodiment of the touch panel of the present invention.

The embodiments of the touch panel and the method of manufacturing the same according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. For the sake of understanding, the same components in the following embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 11 , wherein FIG. 1 to FIG. 10 are manufacturing flowcharts of the first embodiment of the touch panel of the present invention along the line F-F′ of FIG. 11 , and the eleventh The figure is a schematic view of a touch panel according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, first, a substrate 10 is required. The substrate 10 has an opposite first surface 12 and a second surface 14. The first surface 12 of the substrate 10 can serve as a touch surface of the touch panel. The substrate 10 is preferably a transparent insulating plate, and the material thereof may be glass, polycarbonate (Polycarbonate, PC), polyester (Polythylene terephthalate, PET), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), cycloolefin. A copolymer (Cyclic Olefin Copolymer, COC) or a polyether sulfonate (PES) or the like, but the invention is not limited thereto.

Next, referring to FIG. 2, as shown, a shielding layer 20 is formed on the second surface 14 of the substrate 10 in a peripheral region of the substrate 10. The shielding layer 20 may be a black matrix pattern of a metal chromium (Cr), a chromium oxide plating layer or a resin type black coating layer having a light shielding effect.

Referring now to FIG. 3, as shown, the buffer layer 30 is covered on the second surface 14 of the substrate 10. In the present embodiment, the buffer layer 30 covers a portion of the shielding layer 20, thereby The exposed area 22 is formed on the surface of the shielding layer 20, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments of the invention, the buffer layer 30 may completely cover the masking layer 20 without a corresponding exposed area.

The material of the buffer layer 30 may include transparent acryl, transparent polyimide, cerium oxide or nitride, etc., and the buffer layer 30 is formed on the substrate 10 by a lithography process, a spray process or an evaporation process. The second surface 14 is formed on the partial shielding layer 20, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments of the invention, the buffer layer 20 may completely cover the masking layer 20 and the second surface 14 of the substrate 10.

It should be noted that the buffer layer 30 of the present embodiment is formed on the second surface 14 of the substrate 10 in a mild manner, such as spraying or evaporation, instead of being formed by sputtering. Surface 14. Therefore, the formation of the buffer layer 30 does not cause physical damage to the second surface 14 of the substrate 10, and at the same time protects the substrate 10 from physical damage during subsequent sputtering of other metal layers. The physical strength of the substrate 10 is maintained, so that the touch panel of the present embodiment can pass a mechanical test such as a ball drop test.

In addition, since the sidewall 21 of the shielding layer 20 and the substrate 10 are in a right angle state, if the sensing side element is directly sputtered on the substrate 10, the joint between the sidewall 21 of the shielding layer 20 and the substrate 10 is sputtered. Not even, resulting in a shadow effect. Therefore, by simultaneously covering the buffer layer 30 on the second surface 14 of the substrate 10 and the partial shielding layer 20, the shadow effect on the touch panel due to uneven sputtering during the formation of the sensing element can be effectively eliminated.

In more detail, referring to FIG. 4 to FIG. 10, after covering the buffer layer 30, a plurality of sensing elements are formed on the buffer layer 30, and the sensing elements are first splashed. The plating method forms a metal layer on the buffer layer 30. As shown in FIG. 4, the first metal layer 40 is first sputtered onto the buffer layer 30. At this time, the buffer layer 30 and the shielding layer 20 have formed a relatively flat surface, so the first metal layer 40 can be more uniformly sputtered on the buffer layer 30. The material of the first metal layer 40 may be, but not limited to, a composite material such as silver, chromium, aluminum, molybdenum or molybdenum/aluminum/molybdenum laminate.

Next, please refer to Figure 5 and Figure 11 together. As shown, the first metal layer 40 is etched to form a plurality of first metal bridge structures 41 for electrically connecting the inductive side pads in the same direction.

Next, please refer to FIG. 6 and FIG. 11 together. As shown in the figure, the transparent insulating layer 50 is formed to cover the respective first metal bridge structures 41, and only the opposite ends of each of the first metal bridge structures 41 are exposed. . In one embodiment, the transparent insulating layer 50 can be a photosensitive transparent insulating layer, such as, but not limited to, ink or a high transmittance polyester material formed by exposure and development.

Next, referring to FIG. 7 and FIG. 11 together, as shown, a second metal layer 60 is formed on the buffer layer 30, the shielding layer 20, the metal bridging structure 41, and the transparent insulating layer 50. The second metal layer 60 may be a transparent photosensitive material such as indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), antimony tin oxide (ATO), aluminum zinc oxide (AZO) or an organic transparent conductive material.

Referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 11 together, as shown, the second metal layer 60 is etched to form a plurality of first sensing pads 61, a plurality of second sensing pads 62, and a plurality of second metal bridges. Structure 63. The first metal bridge structure 41 connects the first sensing pads 61 in the first direction, and the second metal bridge structure 63 connects the second sensing pads 62 in the second direction, and the first direction is not equal to The second direction. Among them, the formation of complex The plurality of first sensing pads 61, the plurality of second sensing pads 62, and the plurality of second metal bridge structures 63 can be completed by the same yellow light process.

Referring to FIG. 9 and FIG. 11 together, as shown in the figure, a plurality of peripheral lines 70 are formed to electrically connect the first sensing pads 61 and the second sensing pads 62, and the first sensing pads 61 are connected. The signal of the second sensing pad 62 is transmitted to an external processing module (not shown) to calculate the sensing position or the sensing area.

It should be noted that the peripheral line 70 of the present embodiment is substantially connected to the exposed area 22 of the shielding layer 20, so that it has better connectivity, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments of the invention, the perimeter line 70 can be formed substantially on the buffer layer 30.

Referring to FIG. 10 , as shown, the protective layer 80 is formed to cover the first sensing pad 61 , the second sensing pad 62 , the first metal bridge structure 41 , the second metal bridge structure 63 , and the metal guiding line 70 . And so on the sensing element to protect the sensing elements from scratch damage. Among them, the transparent protective layer 80 is an insulating material.

Please refer to FIG. 12, which is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the touch panel of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the touch panel of the second embodiment is the most different from the first embodiment in that the buffer layer 30 of the touch panel of the second embodiment completely covers the second surface 14 of the substrate 10 and the shielding layer 20. As a result, since the buffer layer 30 of the present embodiment does not require additional exposure of the shielding layer 20, the present embodiment can simplify the process of forming the buffer layer 30 with respect to the first embodiment.

Please refer to FIG. 13 , which is a cross-sectional view of a third embodiment of the touch panel of the present invention. As shown, the touch panel of the third embodiment is most different from the second embodiment in that the buffer layer 30 of the third embodiment completely covers the second surface 14 of the substrate 10 and is interposed between the second surface 14 and Between the shielding layers 20. In this way, this implementation For example, the process of forming the buffer layer 30 can be simplified as compared with the first embodiment, and since the peripheral line 70 is directly connected to the shielding layer 20, the present embodiment is preferable to the peripheral line 70 of the second embodiment. Linkage.

It should be noted that the buffer layers of the first embodiment, the second embodiment, and the third embodiment are all formed on the second surface of the substrate, so that during the subsequent sputtering process of forming the sensing element, The protective substrate is not damaged by the sputtering process. In the subsequent ball drop test, the substrate can be subjected to at least an impact force of a steel ball of 130 gram falling from a height of 50 cm. Among them, the weight and height of the steel ball in the ball drop test are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

In summary, since the touch panel of the present invention is formed between the sensing element and the substrate, the substrate can be protected from damage during the sputtering process, so that the impact resistance of the substrate can be improved. At the same time, the flattening between the buffer layer and the shielding layer can effectively reduce the shadow defects generated by the touch panel in the future.

The above is intended to be illustrative only and not limiting. Any equivalent modifications or alterations to the spirit and scope of the invention are intended to be included in the scope of the appended claims.

10‧‧‧Substrate

12‧‧‧ first surface

14‧‧‧ second surface

20‧‧‧shading layer

21‧‧‧ side wall

30‧‧‧buffer layer

41‧‧‧First metal bridge structure

50‧‧‧Transparent insulation

62‧‧‧Second sensing pad

63‧‧‧Second metal bridge structure

70‧‧‧ peripheral lines

80‧‧ ‧ protective layer

Claims (13)

A method for manufacturing a touch panel, comprising: providing a substrate; forming a shielding layer on a peripheral surface of the substrate; covering a buffer layer on the substrate and optionally a process of not forming a nick on the substrate And at least a portion of the shielding layer; and forming a plurality of sensing elements on the buffer layer, wherein the buffer layer protects the substrate from scoring, wherein the process comprises using a lithography process, a spray process, or The vapor deposition process forms the buffer layer on the substrate and the shielding layer. The manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein the buffer layer covers a portion of the shielding layer to form an exposed area of the shielding layer, and the step of forming the sensing elements in the buffer layer further comprises A plurality of peripheral lines are formed in the exposed area of the shielding layer. The manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein the buffer layer completely covers the shielding layer, and the step of forming the sensing elements in the buffer layer further comprises forming a plurality of peripheral lines on the buffer layer. The manufacturing method of claim 1, further comprising forming the buffer layer on the substrate and selectively forming at least a portion of the shielding layer. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the buffer layer is made of transparent acrylic, transparent polyamidoamine, cerium oxide or nitride. A method of manufacturing a touch panel, comprising: providing a substrate; Forming a buffer layer on the substrate in a process that does not substantially create a score on the substrate; forming a shielding layer at a position of the buffer layer relative to a peripheral surface of the substrate; and forming a plurality of sensing elements on the buffer layer and the a shielding layer, wherein the buffer layer protects the substrate to avoid scoring, and the process comprises forming the buffer layer on the substrate and the shielding layer by a lithography process, a spray process or an evaporation process. The manufacturing method of claim 6, wherein the forming the sensing elements in the buffer layer and the shielding layer further comprises forming a plurality of peripheral lines on the shielding layer. The manufacturing method according to claim 6, wherein the buffer layer is made of transparent acrylic, transparent polyamine, cerium oxide or nitride. A touch panel includes: a substrate having a first surface and a second surface, wherein the first surface serves as a touch surface; a shielding layer is disposed around the second surface; An inductive component disposed on the second surface of the substrate; and a buffer layer disposed between the inductive component and the second surface of the substrate in a process that does not substantially create a score on the substrate; The buffer layer covers the substrate or selectively covers at least a portion of the shielding layer, and the buffer layer protects the substrate from scoring, and the process includes using a lithography process, a spray process, or a steaming process. A plating process is formed on the substrate and the shielding layer. The touch panel of claim 9, wherein the buffer layer covers a portion of the shielding layer to form an exposed area of the shielding layer, and the sensing elements are further A plurality of peripheral lines are disposed in the exposed area. The touch panel of claim 9, wherein the buffer layer completely covers the shielding layer, and the sensing elements further comprise a plurality of peripheral lines formed on the buffer layer. The touch panel of claim 9, wherein the buffer layer is disposed between the shielding layer and the substrate, and the sensing elements further comprise a plurality of peripheral lines formed on the shielding layer. The touch panel of claim 9, wherein the buffer layer is made of transparent acrylic, transparent polyimide, cerium oxide or nitride.